It can be smoked, injected, or snorted.
It is known as ice, speed, crystal and crank.
It causes massive release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the
brain.
It may cause long-lasting brain damage.

"It" is the drug calledmethamphetamine.

Areas of the basal ganglia examined.

A new study (Neurology, March 2000) by researchers at Harbor-UCLA
Medical Center provides evidence that people who used methamphetamine have
significant changes in their brain chemistry. Researchers used
brain-imaging methods to compare chemicals in the brains of 26 former
methamphetamine abusers and 24 healthy, age-matched people.

Researchers examined levels of N-acetylaspartate (NA), because it is
thought to be a marker for neuron damage. For example, decreases in NA
are seen in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, multiple
sclerosis, epilepsy and other neurological disorders. Compared to healthy
people, methamphetamine abusers had reduced levels of NA in the basal
ganglia and the white matter of the frontal lobe. People who had used the
most methamphetamine had the lowest levels of NA.

Two other brain chemicals, choline and myoinositol, were used to track glial cell changes. Significant increases in these
chemicals were found in the gray matter of the frontal lobes of
methamphetamine abusers. These increases may indicate an increase in the
number of glial cells when the brain responds to injury.

Researchers do not yet know if the changes in brain chemistry caused by
methamphetamine abuse are permanent or how these changes might affect
behavior later in life. It is not known whether the brain can repair
itself with time. Additional research is needed to determine if
treatments can reverse the brain damage caused by
methamphetamine.